Matthew Williamson looks for a turnaround after accounts show a £1.6m pre-tax loss in 2012

Laura Chesters

Laura Chesters is a business reporter and covers the consumer, food, drink and luxury goods sectors on the business desk at The London Evening Standard, i, The Independent and The Independent on Sunday

Matthew Williamson, the fashion designer famous for his friendships with stars including Kate Moss and Sienna Miller, plans to restructure and grow his business this year, after it made £1.6m pre-tax loss in 2012.

The designer’s most recent accounts reveal that the costs
of closing its New York shop and the termination of its MW diffusion line -
after its partner went into insolvency - hit sales and profits.

The accounts, filed at Companies House this week,
revealed that turnover had fallen 10 per cent to £10.2m, and that its pre-tax loss had widened
from £142,477 in 2011 to a £1.6m.

But the brand is on the cusp of a turnaround after a new
chief executive was drafted in last autumn. Former Nicole Farhi chief executive
Niki Scordi has begun cost cutting at the brand to improve its balance sheet.
Former chief executive and co-founder Joseph Velosa stepped up to chairman when
Ms Scordi joined.

Mr Velosa, who owns a majority stake in the business with
former partner Matthew Williamson, said: “2013 has been a year of increased
profitability and we fully expect to turn in a clear profit margin for the
business when we post our results in a few months from now.”

The company also said it is “encouraged by the group’s position after the
recession and the improving market conditions” and added that without the
exceptional items the 2012 earnings would have been £140,000.

Ms Scordi, who also previously worked at Browns and
luxury giant LVMH, will expand the brand through wholesale accounts in
department stores and boutiques globally. The group has stores in London’s
Bruton Street and in the Middle East in Dubai and Doha. It also has an outlet
store in Bicester Village in Oxfordshire.